Lampasas residents, city leaders concerned for safety after internet outages

Lampasas residents and city leaders are fed up after claims arose that phone and internet service continued to drop for extended periods of time, which has caused safety concerns.

Author:
Emani Payne

Published:
6:10 PM CDT September 15, 2017

Updated:
6:10 PM CDT September 15, 2017

Lampasas residents and city leaders are fed up after claims arose that phone and internet service continued to drop for extended periods of time, which has caused safety concerns.

Locals in the area claim the loss of service has occurred for months. Residents told Channel 6 their service would be interrupted, and they lose access to 911 calling and working security systems at homes and banks.

Officials said the issue derived from an accidental cutting of a fiber optic line during construction.

Lampasas Police Chief blank said the outages have happened nearly five times since May and sometimes last over 24 hours. When the service is lost, residents described the town as "being at a standstill.

Sammy Bailey, Lampasas Chief of Police, said she's afraid if it's not fixed soon someone will get hurt.

"You know, my fear is that someone is going to need service and it's not going to be available for them," Bailey said. "Someone is going to die if this does not get fixed."

"Like all telecommunication companies -- service for our customers can be affected by other companies doing construction that damages our equipment on accident. Unfortunately there have been a series of incidents in Lampasas. We continue to explore ways to reduce future issues."

The city told Channel 6 it is also working to resolve the issue as well.